on nudity (no offense)

File it under G (for 'Oh for Goodness Sake'), or F, for What the F?

Or, where the real blame lies: under N for Nude, this season's must have colour. If you're in the States, this news is probably as old as yesterday's fish and chips wrapper, but I just read in the Telegraph that Michelle Obama's 'nude' dress by Naeem Khan, has offended some people because - catch this - it's not HER shade of nude. AND to pour salt on the wound, the designer himself, of Indian nationality and born in Mumbai has had the affront to call his own dress 'streling-silver sequin, abstract floral, NUDE strapless gown.' (the context being, he's not 'nude' coloured, either): article here.

It reminded me of a running commentary Pearl and I have held over the true 'griege' (beige and grey) which has emerged this spring via Chanel, but which I first read about as a colour Jackie Kennedy was partial to while in the White House (which, come to think of it: is the White House really, technically, white? I mean, is anything White White anymore. Or, these days, is it a bit more.. cream? Off-white? Magnolia?)




I shot this at Uniqlo's Press Day not that long ago. I especially loved a new line commissioned from the creative duo from NY, COSTELLO TAGLIAPIETRA. The company is named after their grandmother's surnames: both women taught them tailoring, and worked for Norman Norell in the 1960s.




I love this stuff. I mean, look at this gorgeous, drapey number in palest lilac. (sorry: I mean lavender. Or do I mean heather? Or is it more of a greyish pink?)

My theory about the Nude thing is, peach is so passe,. As a colour word, I mean. (As a fruit, ripe in the summer, it's divine, especially with yogurt, or in a pie. Except of course in England, where peaches are always disappointing.)

Besides, real peaches are too orange, too bright to describe the colour nude. It's not quite 'ballet pink'. Seashell pink, perhaps, but real sea shells are anywhere from dirty white to the blue black of mussels, and rarely pink. And beige is so.. beige. I don't know why the word Nude has captured our imagination, but maybe it's because the 'underwear as outerwear' trend is so potent right now. (And I know Mr. Dot is so tired of hearing me say this, but every time I see those three words in print, I wish I was getting royalties because I'm sure I've coined the phrase, and will cling to that belief til the day I die: hopefully, clad in elegant lingerie, in the open air, so they can say in my obituary 'she was wearing underwear as..')




Anyway, doncha just love this pretty blue dress? It's kind of a steel grey blue.. a bit indigo, actually. You couldn't call it sky blue. Well, you could... it's the blue of a summer sky just before a tropical storm. It's the colour of the sea on a choppy day. Not a tranquil, Carribean sea, which is really more like aqua, or turquoise. Or, in Chanel-speak, VAGUE. Ironic, as the colour is anything but.

Richard E. Grant did a great show recently for the BBC, on the history of the safari, in his continent of birth, Africa. He was talking with a group of Massai, who had a beautiful safari lodge, about how they felt when their first White guests came to visit. Apparently it upset the staff at first: they were a bit afraid of the 'Pink People'.

I don't know what colour I am: I swim so much, that in warm weather, I'm kind of latte coloured. Double shot, that is. Between holidays, my skin has a slightly olive hue. So I guess you could call me Green. As my dad would say, 'You can call me anything you want, just don't call me late for dinner.'

Loathe to post anything on top of yesterday's shots of Roz. But that's the nature of a blog: time must move on, and if you want to see them, you'll just have to scroll down. It's worth the effort. I can't take any credit for the beauty of that post: shooting Roz is like shooting fish.

style icon: sam cam, in my jacket

Ah, that Sam Cam: Britain's First Lady of Style. This photo ran in the Evening Standard their first day in Number Ten, and I realised: crikey, that's MY Topshop Sequin Motorcylce Jacket!

I first noticed That Jacket last spring, and posted about it in June. I know the first rule of being a Style Icon is 'Stick to your own style' and this was so not mine, but maybe that was the draw. Besides, I was new to the blogging world and getting sucked into the vortex of want. (That's when Mr. Dot first started telling me rule number one, which applies to drug dealers as well as bloggers: DON'T DO YOUR OWN DRUGS.)



Still... that want couldn't go away. The jacket was out of stock, it came back in, I became obsessed about it ('it's back!').. it culminated with a public scene in the High Street Kensington Topshop branch, tears and tantrums, something about mutton dressed as lamb, Mr. Dot storming out, someone's boyfriend, overhearing, kindly commenting that it was none of his business, but he thought it looked rather good on me.

(There's a story behind these tights, of course: it's all here: 'don't shoot me, I'm only the photographer.')



There was a happy ending: Mr. Dot & I made up, and The Jacket is mine. I still don't feel it's his favourite look for me, and to be honest, it's not really my style, but I love it all the same. Like a beloved child that is not one's own, but you've gone thru a great ordeal to adopt, it has become part of the family.

Now, seeing Dave & Sam Cam so smiley in this photo, I'm wondering.. was there ever a slight raised eyebrow? A sentence that began with 'you're not going out in..'? I wonder: do style icons ever get into argy bargies with their men over their attire?



With the current V&A show on Grace Kelly, and constant speculation on who is the new 'style icon', I'm curious:

What you feel constitutes a style icon? Is it a question of constant reinvention, like Madonna? Or staying true to one style? Is it about wearing only designer clothes? Or, like Michelle Obama, is it the courage to wear J. Crew catalogue with the same grace (and pride) as Jason Wu?

I feel another survey coming on (sidebar, top right); if you'd like to add a write-in, long as they're living and their husband is currently in office (or, better yet, they are), please add them to a comment. Does anyone know what high street brands Carla favours?

Just curious: are there any items of clothes that nearly cost you your relationship? Or am I the only one?

me & my BFF michelle obama

This was shot at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, up on the wall by the gates, waiting for the Obamas to arrive. For a change, I knew how it felt to be dotted: great, frankly!

And it couldn't have been more opposite to what was going on in the City on the same day. Everyone was so happy. And so quiet. A thousand or more people, and you could hear a pin drop. Waiting, having fun, being stylish and blase. Living life in peace. And when the First Couple finally arrived.. a magic moment. Just like that John Lennon song.

But life is strange, and because of an item of clothing, this photo - and others shot by photographers at the same time - have now appeared in so many papers, from the Guardian to the Telegraph to a big spread in Time Out - and now, online, with this cute thread about the 'girl' in the tee shirt. Someone from ABC News interviewed me on what we think of Michelle here in London, which was fun (answer: everyone loves her). Oh, if anyone's interested: I wore riding boots from Blue Velvet (King's Road), white jeans from the Gap, tee shirt, my own design as inspired by Karin Robinson and the London Underground. But we're much more interested in what Michelle was wearing. And she was dressed in Gap for Number Ten, so we're clearly on the same page.